


The First Day After

by cathtice



Series: Tales of the Sixth Age [3]
Category: World of Darkness (Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 02:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10548372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathtice/pseuds/cathtice
Summary: What happens after the end of the world.





	

Caine begs forgiveness; and kneels at last. 

His true grandchilder walk by his side as he leaves; Saulot and Haqim walk in faith and justice.

Their childer, and the few others who fight against the Wyrm, are given a choice, before the end of the species, the disease, the Curse.

Jade inspects her perfectly clean, perfectly manicured nails, makes sure her acid-destroyed weaponry are replaced with fresh, shining blades and places a neat black badge on one neat black lapel. There is no place for her in the city of memory-keepers. This world will be in great need of Justice, after all, and what else is there to do? Judge, jury and executioner, all in one perfect package. 

How do you go back to being human when you've forgotten what it means?

 

***

Caine begs forgiveness; and kneels at last.

The laws of Chivalry are upheld; the righteousness of protecting the weak is left as a spark in the darkness.

There is nothing left of Ellen except what she won for the world.

 

***

The Wyrm has won on Earth. 

There's a corner of denial in its heart, though, as something fights to survive.

She left London a little while before it vanished from reality. The car has been packed with things that deserve to survive the Age; beautiful scrolls of the Tao, first editions of Jane Austen, a small preparatory sketch for a painting of Helen of Troy and a laptop half-filled with hundreds of years of diaries, letters to a man who wasn't born yet. 

The Wyrm is the Defiler, the Corrupter - this part of it will not be destroyed yet for trying to run away. 

Maybe in a thousand years. Maybe when tomorrow comes. Maybe then, a silver sword will be in a pure man's hand. But that's a long way away, and till then, Jamie's complaining about the Emirates Stadium being lost to time, and Mhairie is smiling.

 

***

The Wyrm has won on Earth, but it is not the same in the Umbra.

In the distant reaches of the Deep Umbra, a mismatched, ramshackle collection of people are settled in a Realm that looks like Gaia once did, building tree-villages and roots and souls. 

There are a few others with them. Once upon a time, they were enemies. Meeting in the depths of space, the darknesses between the stars, they were fleeing the Nephandi too. 

There's a blond man there with tattoos where club-kid makeup used to be who remembers his sister, his rock. He found this place and persuaded the Dreamspeakers and Void Engineers to come here, but she tied the land and its power together for them; anchored them in Life and Matter and Prime. 

He, Oracle, speaks to the dreams of the world, and She answers.

She calls herself Gjarti. 

 

***

The Wyrm has won on Earth, but the Homelands are still there, safe in the Umbra.

There, a grey wolf can run forever, chasing a laughing red-headed girl, tripping her and licking her and chewing her hair and fingers before they both go back to the redhead's love, who feeds them on fresh-cooked rabbit and deer still warm from the hunt.

There, a grey wolf doesn't need to chase the sun for fire or death, because the sun here is always warm, and death is far behind.

There, lovers meet again (a tall blond man walks slowly, uncertainly, up to greet a woman who sung with the tongue of merlins once) and there family sprawl next to one another in piles (a short, dark-haired girl, hair plaited back, frowns at a book before throwing it to one side with a smile at her cousin, her aunt, her uncle; all shining silver and noble).

There's no tomorrow here, nor no yesterday - but they still know that they lit a fire for the Wyld that will not go out.


End file.
